Final whistle
Timmy O'Connell har skickat in en gästkrönika om hur det är att vara något så ovanligt som en engelsman och Manchester City-supporter som även håller på ÖIS.
"Its been a long while and the loyal supporters of OIS deserve some success. Maybe the next couple of seasons will bring some joy and who knows some silver for the trophy cupboard?"
I go back a few years to when I was on-line checking for Manchester City fans around the world and I came across a group listed in an old chat forum/room. On it was a man from Sweden who was listed as jepster from Goteborg and an OIS supporter who also like a lot of people follow teams from other countries around the world. I myself do the same. Real Madrid in Spain. AC Milan from Italy. Ajax in Holland and so the list goes on. Most of the teams, some I list and some I do not, stem from when I was a lad and you see these teams on tv etc. Sweden however was one footballing country I had never really paid much attention to. I think this stems from never really seeing them on tv so I couldn't affiliate myself with any of them.
Anyway Jesper being an OIS fan told me about his team and how in many ways they are maybe seen as the underdog in Goteborg like Manchester City are here in England when compared to another certain team I care not to mention from the Manchester area. And I do not mean Stockport. I've known Jesper now for many years and consider him as a Brother almost and though we hear very little of Swedish football in this country he tries his best to keep me up to date with the ongoings in and around Orgryte as well as the rest of the league.
I go to the Home site of OIS but unfortunately our Swedish is much worse than your English and I cannot understand the comments on the site and thats where Jesper comes in. It would be great if the OIS site listed reports in English or at least had a section for English speaking countries. A lot of fans could be found for Swedish clubs if this was the case and if OIS do it 1st maybe they will get the jump on a lot of floating fans. After all where ever you live in the world football is the greatest game and so where the news can be read on certain sites is where the fans will start their knowledge finding expedition of Swedish/OIS football.
Of course over the years some great players have come from Sweden and the Premiership has had its share of these from Allback to Larsson and Freddie the red Ljungberg of Arsenal who over the last few years has probably been the biggest export from Sweden.
But like most things to do with football the bigger clubs around the world are the ones that get the news and so players moving from and to them are the ones that grab the headlines over here. After Euro champs and world cups it is a great time when players from all around the world catch the eye and when they are from Sweden I get the heads up on anyone worth looking at and maybe wishing that my club could maybe sign them from my OIS supporter friend from Goteborg Jesper Anerod.
With a very similar style to English football I find it hard to believe we do not see any games over here on sat tv, and it would be fantastic if OIS were to be screened on English tv. I do not know of any other fans of them over here but that does not matter to me. I am used to that, being a Manchester City fan who lives about 220 miles away from Manchester and am only 1 of about 4 fans in my home town who follow the sky blue team from Manchester.
Last season sorry to say OIS were relegated from the top flight and now face a battle to get themselves back up into the big time. Something my own team have had to do far to often over the last few years. Sometimes the drop can be a blessing in disguise and gives the team a chance to re-group, bring in fresh faces whether on loan, from the youth set up or as a purchase. And with some of the youth lads signing new contracts and showing their loyalty to the club and also Ken Fagerberg up front you just never know what can happen. Ken of course being a OIS fan you can be sure he will wear his heart on his sleeve, and at any level of football a fan who plays for the club he loves is a bonus and at the end of the season can alone be worth a few extra points. With some possible loan signings from Malmo in exchange for Toivonen we can ready ourselves for the challenge ahead. As with a lot of teams when they drop down a division players leave the club and Ailton and Toivonen are a couple of those and will be missed.
The last few seasons proving a bit of a struggle, with the right team in place we can push for promotion. And on the back of a great season take that form back into the top flight and maybe push to be back where we belong, at the top. Its been a long while and the loyal supporters of OIS deserve some success. Maybe the next couple of seasons will bring some joy and who knows some silver for the trophy cupboard? I like many fans wait for the season to start and hope this season kick starts OIS push back into the elite of Swedish football.
I, of course on game days, wait for my phone to beep or an e-mail to come in and there I have a report from Jesper filling me in on every kick, foul, goal and the general rundown of the day's game from kick off to final whistle. Lets hope the final whistle this season greets OIS with a jump back into where they belong. I,like many, cannot wait for it all to begin again.
Timmy O'Connell
